“The Art of Watches” will run July 13–23, 2017, at Cipriani 42nd Street

Geneva-based watchmaker Patek Philippe has announced that it will welcome visitors to a grand exhibition of timepieces next summer in New York City.

Free and open to the public, “The Art of Watches” will run July 13–23, 2017, at Cipriani 42nd Street, a former bank building that will, for the first time, house a temporary two-story structure created to accommodate the exhibition. Ten rooms dedicated to different aspects of watchmaking—including rare handicrafts, grand complications, and movements—will display timepieces dating from 1530.

“We’ve re-created the Rue du Rhone store, so you’ll be able to walk into our workshops,” said Larry Pettinelli, president of Patek Philippe US, referring to the watchmaker’s Geneva salon, which will be replicated in the exhibition’s Current Collection room.

Designed as an immersive experience, the exhibition is intended to educate visitors “about the historic and contemporary ties between our company and the American market,” Patek Philippe president Thierry Stern said in a statement.

Pettinelli revealed that the firm will make some exclusive watches for the American market timed to the exhibition, but they will not be for sale at the venue. “It’s a relaxing environment,” he said. “We’re not trying to sell anything.”

A rendering of the digital screen that will greet visitors to “The Art of Watches” exhibition (photo courtesy of Patek Philippe)

JCK